Archive for April, 2009

Here at the key numbers in Washington and Lee’s first Relay for Life: 26, 244, and 8,333. When the relay steps off on Friday at 8 p.m., there will be 244 participants on 26 teams. And as of yesterday, the Web site indicated that participants have raised $8,333 in pledges toward the $10,000 goal. But there is still time to register and still time to pledge. If you’re not familiar with Relay for Life, it’s the American Cancer Society’s signature activity. Teams take turns walking or running around a track or path for 24 hours. You can see all the details of the event on the Relay Web site, including a list of the current teams and also a list of all the participants. The relay takes place on Wilson Field.

Welcome yet another blog from W&L’s Spring Term: this one is courtsy of the New York Internship program. When they’re not out making it in the Big Apple, students in the annual internship program are sharing their experiences and thoughts. In only their first few days we’ve learned that Erin Galliher (who’s at Forbes) enjoyed a falafel pita, that Catherine Carlock got to watch a pre-recording of CNBC’s “Mad Money,” and that Michael Morella spent his first day at Ark Media concentrating on Eva Longoria’s life history. We also got a picture of the Wall Street bull courtesy of Cale Grove (see above). So stay tuned and see how the term goes for the New York interns (sounds like a reality show) while you also spend some time with the biology class in Yellowstone Park and the archaeology class digging over the mountain at Monticello.

Biology professor Bill Hamilton and his Spring Term class are out in Yellowstone where they are conducting research invasive plant species and “their impacts on soil nitrogen cycling and organic matter decomposition.” Here’s some background on the research that Bill does. When they aren’t out in the field collecting samples or in the lab examining them, they are chronicling their work on a blog where you can already see that they’re definitely not in Lexington any more. Not only have they posted a cool gallery of images, including a wolf waiting to dine on an elk, several bison, a bald eagle and Rocky Mountain bluebirds, but they’ve got some video taken with a Flip MinoHD Camcorder. You’ll want to follow this blog throughout the term. Based on the first few days, odds are good that they’ll have lots of interesting images to see before they finish their work. You’re apt to see a few more photo galleries like this one.

At 81, Lacey Putney has just announced that he will run for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates from Virginia’s 19th District, which includes the city of Bedford and much of Bedford and Botetourt counties. Putney, a member of Washington and Lee’s Class of 1950, is already the Commonwealth’s longest-serving legislative representative, having served in the House of Delegates since 1962. Putney is an Independent, and so far no one is stepping up to challenge him. Little wonder. In 2007, he was opposed by Democrat Lewis Medlin and won 73 percent of the vote. That year he was also named chairman of the influential budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, prompting the Roanoke Times to profile him as Boss of the budget.

“Gripping and profound.” “Witty, bawdy, philosophical, touching, and humorous.” “Audacious, wondrous.” And those are just a sampling of the adjectives being used to describe Woodsburner, the debut novel of Washington and Lee alumnus John Pipkin of the Class of 1989. Scheduled to be released on April 28, Woodsburner covers a single day in the life of Henry David Thoreau. According to the Washington Post’s review, “[t]he ingenious nature of this structure grows clearer with each haunting chapter.” The Kirkus Review even uses the “p” word, writing: “A superb historical fiction as well as a complex and provocative novel of ideas—Pulitzer Prize material.” There’s good news for those of you who will be returning to Lexington for the 2009 Alumni Weekend — John will be reading from and signing Woodsburner on Saturday, May 2, from noon to 2 p.m. in Elrod Commons. It’s a sneak preview in some ways since it will be John’s first event since the book is officially available and precedes the official book launch back in his home town of Austin on May 7. You can read some additional reviews of the novel here.

Southern Living subscribers who live in the Mid-Atlantic area will be in for a treat this month when they discover Washington and Lee’s Janet Ikeda gracing the cover of the special insert, Mid-Atlantic Living People & Places. The article in question-and-answer format describes both the Japanese Tearoom constructed in the Watson Pavilion as well as Janet’s classes that introduce W&L students to chanoyu, or the art of tea. he story isn’t yet on line, but you can download a pdf of the page and read Janet’s answers. Asked, for instance, what students get ouf of the class, Janet said: “It’s a great way to study abroad without leaving town. Once you enter the tearoom and the ceremony begins, you’re in Japan.”

After each issue of W&L: The Washington and Lee University Alumni Magazine is published, we post a survey for readers to give us their views. We do want to hear from our readers with their opinions and their ideas. The survey for the Winter issue is now available. Please take a moment, click on this link, and tell us what you thought about that issue and about the Annual Report, which was included in the issue. Among the findings from the survey that was posted following the publication of the Fall edition: 35 percent read the entire magazine, 47 percent read a few sections, 17 percent skimmed it, and two percent didn’t know it had arrived. In addition to the survey, the magazine Web site has some Web-only features and we’re added an electronic version of the magazine, too.